Nick Cannon reveals why he didn't want his late son Zen to get chemo
"Seeing your son hooked up to all of those machines... I couldn't imagine him having to go through chemo," says Nick.
Nick Cannon is opening up about the devastating loss of his five-month-old son, Zen. His baby boy died of brain cancer in December 2021.
Nick, who shared Zen with model Alyssa Scott, revealed more details about his son's cancer diagnosis and how they dealt with his death.
Speaking during an episode of 'The Checkup with Dr. David Agus', Nick revealed that Zen appeared "healthy" for the first two months of his life. But Nick and Alyssa started to notice a change in his breathing patterns.
"We [also] noticed his head was a little larger, [but] all my kids have big heads. I was a big-headed baby," People quoted him as saying on the show.
ALSO READ: Nick Cannon celebrates "genius" son (5) heading to grade two
They decided to take Zen to the doctor and soon learned that he had glioma - a rare form of brain cancer.
"From that point, they pretty much told me that best case scenario, your son could live to 3 or 4 years old. So instantly when I heard that, I thought quality of life. I wanted him to have the best existence he could have," the 42-year-old said.
Doctors used a shunt to drain fluid from Zen's brain, but Nick and Alyssa decided against chemotherapy when they learned that it would not really improve his quality of life. He would also have to "live in the hospital" if he underwent treatment.
"Seeing your son hooked up to all of those machines — and he had to go for a shunt two or three times, and that was heartbreaking every time — even in that short amount of time, I couldn't imagine him having to go through chemo."
ALSO READ: Nick Cannon buys pregnant Abby De La Rosa a house
Zen, who was born on 23 June 2021, died on December 5. Nick says the last few days with their son were tough and says he couldn't have gone through it without Alyssa by his side.
"I definitely couldn't have done it without her. The fact that she was the one, from every aspect she handled it. We had some beautiful moments. We had the opportunity, we knew the transition was coming. It happened a lot faster than we thought, but even that last weekend I knew, 'this is probably going to be the last weekend.'"
ALSO READ: Nick Cannon on Elon Musk's baby news: 'Right there with you, my brother!'
Nick and Alyssa are expecting another baby. The new addition to the family will make Nick a father of 12. 'The Masked Singer' host welcomed four other children in 2022.
Abby De La Rosa welcomed his 11th child, Beautiful Zeppelin Cannon, in November; Brittany Bell gave birth to baby #10 in September; LaNisha Cole welcomed baby #9 in September as well; and Bre Tiesi gave birth to baby #8 in July.
Nick told Dr. David Agus he feels guilty about not spending a lot of time with his children.
"Being a father of multiple kids, it's always the biggest guilt on me is that I don't get to spend enough time with all my children, one 'cause I'm constantly working and two because I'm just spread thin."
But the actor makes time for all children and is glad he got to spend Zen's final moments on earth with him.
"Luckily we did everything from the sunrise, going to the beach, the sunset, said some beautiful prayers as a family, and really came together as a family in a very beautiful way. I'm grateful for that, but it was definitely tough. To see your child there, suffering at a point and watching things shut down, it was pretty intense," he said.
Here's a look at all Nick's kids and their mothers.
1. Moroccan Scott (Mother: Mariah Carey)
2. Monroe (Mother: Mariah Carey)
3. Golden Sagon (Mother: Brittany Bell)
4. Powerful Queen (Mother: Brittany Bell)
5. Rise Messiah (Mother: Brittany Bell)
6. Zion Mixolydian (Mother: Abby De La Rosa)
7. Zillion Heir (Mother: Abby De La Rosa)
8. Zen Cannon (Mother: Alyssa Scott)
9. Onyx Ice (Mother: LaNisha Cole)
10. Legendary Love (Mother: Bre Tiesi)
11. Beautiful Zeppelin (Mother: Abby De La Rosa)
12. Unborn* (Mother: Abby De La Rosa)
ALSO READ: Nick Cannon reveals he pays over R50-million a year in child support
Main image credit: Nick Cannon (Istagram/@nickcannon), Alyssa Scott (Instagram/@itsalyssaemm)